Ukraine on alert as war fears grow

'Conflict is shifting from a political to a military stage'

(INDEPENDENT) — In an extraordinary day which redrew the map of Europe, fears were growing that widespread violence would erupt in the aftermath of Russia’s annexation of Crimea.

An Ukrainian officer was killed in a confrontation in Simferopol, just hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin delivered an incendiary speech justifying Moscow’s reclamation of the former Ukrainian territory.

Several others were injured and the Ukrainian commander captured as the military facility in the Crimean capital was stormed by troops dressed in Russian camouflage kits and balaclavas.

Is Putin trying to recreate the Soviet Union?

No, George W. Bush was right: He's a man who can be trusted

No, he's merely trying to enhance his own personal power

No, why would he want control of Muslim-dominated 'stan' nations?

No, one little peninsula does not an empire make

Yes, and it'll be more hammer than sickle

Yes, but it will include only the nations with high ethnic Russian populations